Donegal's next step: Jim McGuinness's second season has already set pulses racing

And so to the second season for Jim McGuinness and his Donegal squad.  

In sport, the weight of yesterday can be seductive, a golden haze tempting players and teams to linger too long on what was. 

Tennis great Rafael Nadal, once redefined the idea of relentless pursuit and captured the essence of forward momentum in saying; “Every day, every year, every new season is a reset from the last, to do things better and better”.   

It’s a mantra that speaks to the essence of elite competition — a refusal to bask in old triumphs.  

The rumours about Michael Murphy have long since crystallised into truth, the Christmas break has blurred the edges of that Abu Dhabi training camp, and the new rules have been read through like holy scripture.   

The whispers now turn to whether McGuinness and his side can replicate what he did in his second season in charge when he captured Sam Maguire back in 2012.  

So far, the same narrative has been followed; Division 2 success, Ulster glory, and an All-Ireland semi-final defeat. But the landscape of Gaelic football has changed dramatically in those 12 years.  

It may be easy to look back 12 years ago through rose-tinted glasses and paint a story of glory from start to finish, but it simply wasn’t the case. In 2012, Donegal won only two of their first six games, albeit two fixtures were played out in the Dr McKenna Cup – a competition that will not feature this season.  

The real work for Donegal is well underway, and for those drawn to a Broadway narrative, there’s no better way to see McGuinness’s side trial the new rules than against Kerry on January 26, the only difference this season is that Donegal will not fall under the radar.  

“Like most top teams, there’ll be a lot of challenges for Donegal this season who have a target on their backs, something they didn’t have the pressure of last year, where there wasn’t a huge amount of expectation,” said 1992 All-Ireland winner Joyce McMullin.  

“Last year they hit the ground running from the off and they went from strength to strength. Maybe they ran out of steam towards the end and that showed a tiny bit in the All-Ireland semi-final, but overall, they were very effective in what they did and they’ll bring all the learnings from last season into this year.  

“I see there’s a lot of people tipping Donegal for the All-Ireland, not just fans but the media too, and Donegal are just going to have to live with that pressure, but I think Jim knows how to manage that side of things even though we all know that the league is going to be tricky and there will be no handy victories this season.”  

The new rules seem to be the two biggest buzz words over the last few months in the GAA world and while all management sides will have different aspects to the game that will need key attention to detail, it’s clear that Gaelic football will never be algebra in McGuinness’s world.   

So where, if any does the Donegal side need to focus on?  

“I think the big factor for Donegal will be how certain players adapt to the new rules,” McMullin told Donegal Live.   

“Will they be a better team because of the rules? It’s hard to know. I think from the attacking side of things, that’ll suit us down to the ground because we do have quality forwards, and that’s not even counting the return of Michael Murphy.  

“I think within our forwards, we have pace, skill, goalscorers, everything. But I’d be asking the question from a defensive point of view, where we have quality runners and good players, but I don’t think we have that hard-hitting old-style man-marker like a Neil McGee or a Paddy McGrath.  

“With the new rules and the three-up top, we’re going to have to have that type of player who can go one-to-one with the best forwards, so, that’ll be a challenge.   

“We do have defenders whose strength is in running with that ball going forward, which is still needed but perhaps now we might see one of them moved back to corner-back as a man-marker which will be interesting.”  

There’s little doubt that last season’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Galway had a lasting and informative impact in the Donegal dressing-room, while also carrying a repugnant edge in most Donegal minds in knowing how close the county was to 2024 glory.  

But McMullin, a former teammate of McGuinness, knows how the hard lessons of the past can shape the present team. It’s all about moving forward, bloodying new players, and expanding on ideas.  

“The one thing about this team which helps them, is that they’re still a young side, and apart from Murphy, nobody is facing into an age of retirement, so I think Jim is going relish this second year in charge and no doubt, he’ll learn more about his players this year than he did last year,” the Four Masters man said.  

“The big challenge of course for us is the Ulster championship which can be so draining for players, and that could’ve been the biggest factor for us running out of steam last season because we had to come up against three solid teams in Derry, Tyrone, and then Armagh, two games which went to extra-time.  

“So, it’s a compact season, but we know that Jim is good at giving boys a chance and he trusts new players to come in and play a role. He was brilliant at discovering Ciaran Moore last season and he turned him into a really good player and valuable member of the team.”  

Whether McGuinness has that chance to trial new players without the concept of the pre-season competitions seems to divide support in the county. But one thing is sure is that it has left the team more guarded than ever before.  

For the time being, McGuinness’s cards are tightly held to his chest.   

“I think the whole idea of keeping things in-house and under wraps is simply down to the management,” McMullin acknowledged. “Jim decides when he starts the season what he wants and how he wants to do it, and that’s it.  

“All management teams now don’t want players doing interviews and talking about what’s going on in camp, so it’s far easier for a manager to just block it out.  

“I know the media’s job is to find out as much as they can about the squad, and even friendlies now are being kept behind closed doors, that can be hard for some people but that’s the rules from the manager, and we have to respect it.  

“Jim knows better than most that if he has a challenge match that is open to everyone, then you can be sure that there’ll be someone from a different county down at that game watching and taking notes.  

“I think the way Jim and his side go about their business has worked so far, so why change it.”  

It’s been 12 years since McGuinness’s second season in charge, it may not be déjà vu, but it will have all the same talking points, thrills, and passion as if it was.